Hotter & More Sour Than A Town Hall Protester

This is a recipe from Mark Bittman's book, but with a number of substitutions based on what we had around. Substitutions were done under the influence of birthday drinks and should be taken with a grain of salt (does that count as another recipe variation?). I'm not sure if Bittman would recognize the end product or not, but it turned out pretty well, so I'll post it as we did it.

Hot and Sour Braised Tempeh

What You Need:
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
8 ounces (about 2 cups) Tempeh
4 ounces Whole Wheat Spaghetti, already cooked
1 Tablespoon fresh Ginger
1 Tablespoon minced Garlic
1/2 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Cups Water
1.5 Cups Vegetable Stock
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1/8 Cup Rice Vinegar
1/8 Cup White Wine Vinegar
3 Cups Chopped Cabbage
1/2 Cup Onions
Basil - A liberal sprinkling (liberal as in Ted Kennedy liberal...you know, the real thing)
Salt/Pepper

Step 1
Heat oil at medium-high in deep skillet. Crumble tempeh into hot oil, stir frequently and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for another minute or two.

This is what the tempeh will look like after step one

Step 2
Add vegetable stock, water, soy sauce, and vinegars. Bring to boil, then lower heat slightly so that it keeps bubbling. Leave uncovered and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until liquid cooks down.

Step 3
Stir in cabbage and cook for a minute or two. Then add noodles, basil, and onion. Bring to bubble again, cook for another two minutes.

This is what the end product looked like, a kind of lighter version of lo mein. You can make it spicier by adding more cayenne pepper, but you don't want to loose the sour part of the hot & sour flavor. Best served with Woody Allen movies and Trader Joe's beer.